WASHINGTON, DC – AeA today released Cyberstates 2007: A Complete State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry. The report shows that in 2006, the high-tech industry continued growing in the U.S., adding nearly 150,000 net jobs for a total of 5.8 million. This growth is faster than the 87,400 jobs added in 2005, says AeA.  These two years of growth represent an increase of 4%. The report is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

President and CEO of AeA, William T. Archey, reports, “The average tech industry wage is 86% more than the average U.S. private sector wage … in 48 cyberstates, the average high-tech wage is at least 50% more than the average private sector wage, and in 10 cyberstates this differential is [more than] 90%."

The unemployment rate for engineers in 2006 was below 2%.

The high-tech manufacturing industry added 5,100 net jobs last year. Software services and engineering and tech services employment were up for the third year in a row, increasing by 88,500 jobs and 66,300 jobs, respectively. Only the communications services industry continues to struggle, losing 13,300 net jobs in 2006, says the report.

California led the nation in net job creation, while Florida saw the second largest gain, adding 10,900 tech jobs in 2005. Florida was also the fastest growing state by rate of growth (+4.1%), followed by Virginia (+3.0%). Virginia surpassed Colorado to lead the nation with the highest concentration of tech industry workers as a percent of the private sector workforce (8.9%). 

The report also found that, after dropping slightly in 2005, venture capital investment in the technology industry rose by $285 million, to $12.7 billion in 2006. R&D expenditures by high-tech companies jumped by 22% in 2004, the most recent data available, totaling $70.6 billion, a record-breaking amount of R&D.